"Having loved His own who were in the world—He loved them unto the
end!" John 13:1

A friend is one who loves—and does not cease to love. Christ
having loved His people—loves them unto the end.

One quality of true friendship, is trust. What could be more
sacred than this comfort of feeling safe with a person,
absolutely safe? That is the kind of friend Jesus is. You may always
feel safe with Him. You may confess all your sins to Him. You
may tell Him all your faults and your failures—how you
denied Him the other night, how you failed to be true to Him, and all
the evil thoughts of your heart; and He will be just as tender and
gracious—as if you never had sinned! He loves unto the end!

None of us would want to have our hearts
photographed, and the picture held up before the eyes of
our neighbors! We would not want even our best friends to see a full
transcript of our secret life—what goes on within us:
the jealousies,
the envyings,
the bitter feelings,
the impure thoughts,
the meannesses,
the selfishnesses,
the suspicions,
the doubts and fears!
Yet Christ sees all this unworthy inner life—He knows the
worst that is in us—and loves us still! We do not need to hide
our weaknesses from Him. He never withdraws His love. We may trust Him
absolutely and forever!

"Having loved His own who were in the world—He
loved them unto the end!" John 13:1

"You yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a
spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:5

God builds a palace for Himself in heaven, made of 'living stones'. Where
did He get them? Has He brought forth the richest and the purest
marble from the fine quarries of Paris? No! Christians, look to "the hole
of the pit where you were dug out of, and to the rock where you
were cut from!" You were full of sin. Far from being stones that were
white with purity—you were black with defilement, seemingly utterly
unfit to be stones in the spiritual temple, which would be the
dwelling-place of the Most High God. And yet, He
chose you to be trophies of His grace!

Goldsmiths make exquisite jewelry from precious materials;
they fashion the bracelet and the ring from gold. But God makes His
jewels out of base materials. From the black pebbles of the
defiling brooks—He has taken up stones, which He has set in the golden
ring of His immutable love, to make them gems to sparkle on His finger
forever. He has not selected the best—but apparently the worst
of men—to be the monuments of His grace!

And all these—all this vast gathering of human souls, are joining in
one cry—all moving in one direction! Oh, dreadful thought—at which the
faithful well may weep! Their cry is SELF; their course
is sin. Here and there are the chosen few struggling
against the mighty tide; but the masses, the multitude are hurrying on
in their mad career—in search of an imaginary
good; and reaping the fruit of the futile search—in
disappointment, damnation and hell.

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the
road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is
the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find
it." Matthew 7:13-14

The goal of noble living, is to gather new virtue and grace—from all
life's struggles, cares and sorrows.

A mark of a all noble character—is its desire to do hard
things!

The man who seeks only easy things—will never make much of his
life.

One who is afraid of hard work—will never achieve anything worth
while.

In an art gallery, before a lovely masterpiece, a young artist said to
Ruskin, "Ah! If only I could put such a dream on canvas!"
"Dream on canvas!" growled the old master. "It will take ten
thousand touches of the brush on the canvas—to put your dream there!"
No doubt, many beautiful dreams die in the brains and hearts of
people—for lack of effort to make them realities.

In all departments of life—this indolent, easy-going way of getting
on in life—is working its mischief. People do only what is easy—and
never grapple with anything that is hard.

Indolence is the bane of countless lives! They do not rise—because
they have not the courage and persistence to climb!

There are too many people who try to shirk the hard things.
They want to get along as easily as possible. They have ambition
of a certain sort—but it is ambition to have the 'victory'
without the battle; to 'get the gold' without digging for it.
They would like to be learned and wise—but they do not care to toil in
study, and "burn the midnight oil," as they must do—if they would
realize their desire. They may have a certain longing to be
noble and Christlike, with a character that will command respect and
confidence—but they have not the spirit of self-denial and of earnest
moral purpose, which alone can produce such a character.

They may want to be godly and to grow into worthy manhood—but lack that
passionate earnestness which alone will yield vigorous piety, and manly
virtue, and the heroic qualities of true Christlikeness. Mere
"holy dreaming" will yield nothing better than spiritual
effeminacy! No religion is worthy—which does not seek to attain
the best things; and the best can be won only by the bravest
struggle and the most persistent striving!

We should not forget, that no one ever did anything of great value in
this world—without cost. A quaint old proverb says, "One cannot have an omelet—without breaking eggs!"
If we would do anything really worth while, that will be a blessing in
the world—we must put into it, not merely . . .
easy efforts,
languid sympathies,
conventional good wishes, and
courtesies that cost nothing!

We must put into it . . .
thought,
time,
patience,
self-denial,
sleepless nights,
exhausting toil.

There is a legend of an artist who had found the secret of a
wonderful 'red' which no other artist could imitate. The secret
of his 'color' died with him. But after his death an old wound was
discovered over his heart. This revealed the source of the matchless
hue in his pictures. The lesson of the legend is . . .
no great achievement can be made,
no lofty attainment can be reached,
nothing of much value to the world can be done
—except at the cost of heart's blood!

"I labor—struggling with all His energy, which so
powerfully works in me!" Colossians 1:29

We have only successfully acquired the art of
living a Christian life—when we have learned to apply the
principles of true religion, and enjoy its help and comfort
in our daily life.

It is easy to join in devotional exercises, to quote Bible promises, to
extol the beauty of the Scriptures. But there are many who do these
things—whose religion utterly fails them in the very places and
at the very times—when it ought to prove their staff and stay!

All of us must go out from the sweet services of the Sunday—into a week
of very real and very commonplace life. We must mingle with people
who are not angels! We must pass through experiences,
that will naturally worry and vex us. Those about us, either wittingly
or unwittingly, annoy and try us! We will meet many troubles and
worries in ordinary week-day life. There are continual irritations
and annoyances!

The problem is to live a beautiful Christian life—in the face of
all these hindrances! How can we get through the tangled briers
which grow along our path—without having our hands and feet
torn by them? How can we live sweetly—amid the vexing and irritating
things, and the multitude of little worries and frets which infest our
way, and which we cannot evade?

It is not enough merely to 'get along in any sort of way', to drag to
the close of each long, wearisome day—happy when night comes
to end the strife. Life should be a joy—and not a burden. We should
live victoriously, ever master of our experiences, and not tossed by
them like a leaf on the dashing waves. Every earnest Christian wants to
live a truly beautiful life, whatever the circumstances may be.

A little child, when asked 'what it was to be a Christian,' replied,
"For me, to be a Christian is to live as Jesus would live—and behave as
Jesus would behave—if He were a little girl and lived at our house."

No better definition of the Christian life could be given. Each
one of us is to live just as Jesus would—if He were living out our
little life in the midst of its actual environment, mingling with the
same people with whom we must mingle, and exposed to the very
annoyances, trials and provocations to which we are exposed. We want to
live a life that will please God, and that will bear witness to the
genuineness of our piety.

"Leaving you an example—so that you should follow in His steps." 1
Peter 2:21

Afflictions, when sanctified—plough
the hard soil and cut long and deep furrows in the heart. The heavenly
Sower follows, and fruits of righteousness spring up. "No discipline
seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however,
it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained
by it." Hebrews 12:11

Affliction is a messenger of God—sent to minister to us in the
best of ways! When under God's chastening hand, we should ask,
What would God have this sorrow do for me?
What is its mission?
What its great design?
What golden fruit lies hidden in its husk?
How shall it . . .
strengthen my virtue,
nerve my courage,
chasten my passions,
purify my love, andmake me like Him who bore the cross of sorrow while He
lived, and hung and bled upon it when He died, and now wears the
victor's crown in glory?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The
deceitfulness of sin!

(by Jeremy Taylor)

"Lest any of you be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin!" Hebrews 3:13

First sin startles him,
then it becomes pleasing,
then easy,
then delightful,
then frequent,
then habitual,
then confirmed!

Then the man is impenitent,
then obstinate,
then resolves never to repent,
and then he is damned!

"At that time men will see the Son of Man coming
in clouds with great power and glory!" Mark
13:26

The second coming of Christ shall be utterly unlike the first.

He came the first time . . .
in weakness,
a tender infant,
born of a poor woman in the manger at Bethlehem,
unnoticed,
unhonored,
and scarcely known.

He shall come the second time in royal dignity,
with the armies of heaven around Him, to be known,
recognized and feared, by all the tribes of the earth!

He came the first time to suffer . . .
to bear our sins,
to be reckoned a curse,
to be despised, rejected, unjustly condemned and slain.

He shall come the second time . . .
to put down every enemy beneath His feet,
to take the kingdom of this world for His inheritance,
to rule them with righteousness,
to judge all men and
to reign forevermore!

"A cheerful heart is good medicine; but
a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22

One of the divinest secrets of a happy life—is
the art of extracting comfort and sweetness from every circumstance. We
must develop the habit of looking on the bright side. This is
a magic-wand whose power exceeds that of any fabled magician's to
change all things into blessings. Those who take cheerful views,
find happiness everywhere; and yet how rare is the habit! The multitude
prefer to walk on the dark side of the paths of life.

There are those who take to gloom—as a bat to
darkness, or as a vulture to carrion! They would rather nurse
a misery—than nourish a joy. They always find the dark side of
everything, if there is a dark side to be found. They appear to be conscientious
grumblers, as if it were their duty to extract some essence of
misery from every circumstance! The weather is either too
cold or too hot; too wet or too dry. They never find anything to their
taste. Nothing escapes their criticism. They find fault with the food
on the table, with the bed in which they lie, with
the railroad-train or steamboat on which they travel, with the
government and its officials, with merchant and workman—in a word, with
the world at large and in detail.

They are chronic grumblers! Instead of being content in the
state in which they are—they have learned to be discontented, no matter
how happy their lot! If they had been placed in the Garden of Eden—they
would have discovered something with which to find fault! Their
wretched habit empties life of all possible joy—and turns every cup to
gall.

On the other hand, there are rare people who always take cheerful views
of life. They look at the bright side. They find some joy and beauty
everywhere. If the sky is covered with clouds—they will point
out to you the splendor of some great cloud-bank piled up like
mountains of glory. When the storm rages, instead of fears and
complaints—they find an exquisite pleasure in contemplating its
grandeur and majesty. In the most faulty picture—they see some
bit of beauty which charms them. In the most disagreeable person—they
discover some kindly trait or some bud of promise. In the most disheartening
circumstances, they find something for which to be thankful, some
gleam of cheer breaking in through the thick gloom!

When a ray of sunlight streamed through a crack in the shutter,
and made a bright patch on the floor in the darkened room—the little
dog rose from his dark corner, and went and lay down in the one
sunny spot; and these cheerful people live in the same way. If there is
one beam of cheer or hope anywhere in their lot—they will find it! They
have a genius for happiness. They always make the best out of
circumstances. Their good nature never fails. They take a cheerful view
of every perplexity. Such people have a wondrous ministry in this
world. They are like apple trees when covered with blossoms, pouring a
sweet fragrance all around them.

It may be worth while to linger a little, on the philosophy of living
which produces such results.

Some people are born with sunny dispositions, with large hopefulness
and joyfulness, and with eyes for the bright side of life. Others are
naturally disposed to gloom. Yet, it is still largely a matter of culture
and habit, for which we are individually responsible. Like the
apostle Paul, we can train ourselves to take cheerful views of life,
and to extract contentment and enjoyment from any circumstances.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again—Rejoice!" Philippians
4:4. This is clearly a most important part of Christian culture.

Joyfulness is everywhere commended as a Christian duty.

Discontent is a most detestable fault.

Morbidness is a sin.

Fretfulness grieves God. It tells of unbelief. It destroys
the soul's peace. It disfigures the beauty of Christian character. It
not only makes us soured and unhappy in our own hearts—but its influence
on others is bad.

We have no right to project the gloom of our discontent—over any other
life. Our attitude is to be ever towards joy. There is nothing so
depressing in its effect upon others, as morbidness!

True contentment does not chafe under disappointments and
losses—but accepts them, becomes reconciled to them, and at once looks
about to find something good in them.

This is the secret of happy living!

And when we come to think of it—how senseless it is to
struggle against the inevitable! Discontent helps nothing. It
never removes a hardship, or makes a burden any lighter, or brings back
a vanished pleasure. One never feels better, for complaining. It only
makes him wretched!

A starling in a cage struggles against its fate, flies against
the wire walls, and beats upon them in efforts to be free—until its
wings are all bruised and bleeding!

A canary is shut in another cage, accepts the restraint,
perches itself upon its bar and sings.

"God Himself has said—Never will I leave you; never will I forsake
you." Hebrews 13:5

This truth ought to bring unspeakable comfort to God's children, who
are called to suffer earthly losses. If they have GOD left to
them—no other loss is irreparable!

A wealthy man came home one evening with a heavy heart, and said that
he had lost everything. Bankruptcy had overtaken him. "We are
utterly beggared!" he said. "All is gone; there is nothing
left! We must leave our home, and beg for tomorrow's bread!" His
little five year old daughter crept up on his knee, and, looking
earnestly into his despairing face, said, "Why,
papa, you have mamma and me left!"

Just so, what are temporal and worldly losses of the sorest kind—while
God remains? Yes, what is the loss of money, houses, costly
furniture, and other possessions, while God's love remains? There is
surely enough in Him—to compensate a thousand times for every
earthly loss!

Our lives may be stripped bare—home, friends,
riches, comforts—gone; every sweet voice of love, every note of
joy—silenced; and we may be driven out from brightness, tenderness and
shelter—into the cold ways of sorrow! Yet if we have God
Himself left—ought not this to suffice? Is He not in Himself,
infinitely more than all His gifts? If we have Him—can we
really need anything else?

True religion is intensely practical. Only so far as it
dominates one's life—is it real. We must get the commandments out
of God's Word—and give them a place in the hard, dusty paths of our
earthly toil and struggle. We must get them off the tables of stone—and
have them written on the walls of our own hearts! We must bring the Golden
Rule—into our daily, actual life.

We are too apt to imagine, that holiness consists in mere
good feeling toward God. It does not! It consists in obedience in
heart and life to the divine requirements. To be holy is, first, to be
set apart for God and devoted to God's service, and it necessarily
follows that we must live for God.

Our hands are God's—and can fitly be used only in doing His
work; our feet are God's—and may be employed only in walking
in His ways and running His errands; our lips are God's—and
should speak words only that honor Him and bless others; our hearts
are God's—and must not be profaned by thoughts and affections
that are not pure.

True holiness is no vague sentiment—it is intensely practical. It is
nothing less than the bringing of every thought and feeling
and act—into obedience to Christ! We are quite in
danger of leaving out the element of obedience, in our conception of Christian living. If
we do this, our religion loses its strength and grandeur—and becomes
weak, nerveless and forceless.

Our religion must touch every part of our life—and transform it all
into the beauty of holiness.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He who holds the
pruning-knife!
(J. R. Miller, "Looking at the Right Side" 1888)

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. . . .
He prunes every branch that produces fruit—so that it
will produce more fruit." John 15:1-2

Our Father is the gardener; we are branches under His care. He watches
over our lives. The painful afflictions which cut into our
very souls, the taking from us of objects that are dear to us, as when
the gardener with his sharp knife removes luxuriant branches from the
vine—are our Father's prunings!No hand but His—ever holds the knife! We are sure,
then, that there is never any careless cutting, any unwise
or mistaken pruning, any needless removing of
rich branches or growths.

We really need to go no farther than this. A strong, abiding confidence
that all the trials, sorrows and losses of our
lives—are parts ofour Father's prunings—ought
to silence every question, quiet every fear and give peace and restful
assurance to our hearts, in all their pain. We cannot know the
reason for the painful strokes—but we know that He who holds the pruning-knife is our
Father! That is all we need to know.

The other thought in the Lord's parable, is scarcely less full of
comfort to a Christian. Jesus says, that it is the fruitful branches
which the Father prunes: "He prunes every branch that produces fruit—so
that it will produce more fruit."

Afflictions are not, then, a mark of God's anger or disapproval;
rather, they are a mark of His favor. The branches into which He cuts,
from which he trims away the luxuriant growths—are fruit-bearing
already. He does not prune the fruitless branches—He cuts them
off altogether as useless, as mere cumberers, absorbing life and
yielding nothing of blessing or good.

Some Christians have the impression that their many troubles indicate
that God does not love them—that they cannot be true
Christians, or they would not be so chastened. This teaching of Christ
shows how mistaken they are. The much chastening shows that the
Father is pruning His fruitful branch—to make it more
fruitful! All whom the Father loves—He chastens!

It is the fruitless branch that is never pruned; the fruitful
branch is pruned, and pruned—not by one without skill, not by
an enemy—but by the wise Father! Thus we see how we may
rejoice—even in our trials and afflictions!

One who was altogether ignorant of the art and purpose of pruning,
who should see a man with a sharp knife cutting off branch after branch
of a luxuriant vine, would at first suppose that the pruner was ruining
the vine. So at the time it seems—but by and by, it appears
that the prunings have made the vine more fruitful. In the season of
vintage, the grapes are more luscious, with a richer flavor in
them—because of the cutting away of the superfluous branches.

In like manner, if an angel who had never witnessed anything of human
suffering, and who knew nothing of its object, were to see the Father
causing pain and affliction to His children, it would seem to him that
these experiences could be only destructive of happiness and
blessing; but if the angel were to follow those chastened lives on to
the end, he would see untold blessing coming out of the chastenings!
The Father was but pruning the branches—that they might bear more and
better fruit!

We should never lose sight of the divine purpose in all trials—to
make our lives more fruitful.

Most of us are bad-tempered in various degrees. The dictionary
has been well-near exhausted of adjectives, in giving the different
shades of bad-temper: aggressive, angry, bickering, bitter,
capricious, choleric, contentious, crotchety, despotic, domineering,
easily offended, gloomy, grumpy, hasty, huffy, irritable, morose,
obstinate, reproachful, peevish, sulky, surly, vindictive—these are
some of the qualifying words!

We do not like to believe that the case is quite so serious—that many
of us are unamiable in some offensive degree. It is easier to
confess our neighbor's faults and infirmities, than our own! So,
therefore, quietly taking refuge for ourselves among the few
good-tempered people—we are willing to admit that a great many
of the people we know, have at times rather ungentle tempers. They are
easily provoked; they fly into a passion on very slight occasion; they
are haughty, domineering, peevish, fretful or vindictive!

What is even worse, most of them appear to make no effort to grow out
of their infirmities of disposition! The sour fruit does not
come to mellow ripeness in the passing years; the roughness is
not polished off the diamond to reveal its lustrous hidden beauty. The
same petulance, pride, vanity, selfishness and other disagreeable
qualities are found in the life, year after year!

Where there is a struggle to overcome one's faults and grow out
of them, and where the progress toward better and more
beautiful spiritual character is perceptible, though ever so slow—we
should have sympathy. But where one appears unconscious of one's
blemishes, and manifests no desire to conquer one's faults—there
is little ground for encouragement!

Man-like it is—to fall into sin.Fiend-like it is—to dwell therein.Saint-like it is—for sin to grieve.God-like it is—for sin to leave.

Bad temper is such a disfigurement of character, and,
besides, works such harm to one's self and to one's neighbors, that no
one should spare any pains or cost to have it cured!

The ideal Christian life—is one of unbroken kindliness. It is dominated
by love—the love whose portrait is drawn for us in the immortal
thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. "Love is patient, love is
kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not
rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs." That is the 'picture' of
the ideal Christian life!

We have but to turn to the gospel pages—to find the story of a life in
which all this was realized. Jesus never lost his temper. He
lived among people who tried Him at every point—some by their dullness,
others by their bitter enmity and persecution—but He never failed in
sweetness of disposition, in patience, in self-denying love. Like the flowers
which give out their perfume only when crushed; like
the odoriferous wood which bathes the axe which hews it with fragrance;
the life of Christ yielded only the tenderer, sweeter love—to the rough
impact of men's harshness and wrong. That is the pattern, on which we
should strive to fashion our life and our character! Every outbreak of
violent temper, every shade of ugliness in disposition—mars the radiant
loveliness of the 'picture' we are seeking to have fashioned in our
souls!

Bad-tempered people are continually hurting others,
ofttimes their best and truest friends.

Some people are sulky—and one person's sulkiness casts a
chilling shadow over a whole household!

Others are so sensitive, ever watching for slights and offended
by the merest trifles—that even their nearest friends have no freedom
of fellowship with them!

Others are despotic, and will brook no kindly suggestion, nor
listen to any expression of opinion!

Others are so quarrelsome that even the meekest and gentlest
person cannot live peaceably with them!

It would be easy to extend this portrayal of the evils of bad
temper—but it will be more profitable to inquire HOW a bad-tempered
person may become good-tempered. There is no doubt that this happy
change is possible in any case. There is no temper so obdurately
bad—that it cannot be trained into sweetness. The grace of God can take
the most unlovely life—and transform it into the image of Christ.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Look
up!

(J. R. Miller, "Unto the
Hills!" A Meditation on Psalm 121)

"I will lift up my eyes unto the hills,
from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven
and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

It is good always to look
up. Thousands of people dwarf their lives, and hinder
the possibilities of growth in their souls—by looking downward.
They keep their eyes ever entangled in mere earthly sights, and
miss the glories of the hills that pierce the clouds, and of
the heavens that bend over them!

A story is told of a boy who one day found a
gold coin on the street. Ever after this—he kept his eyes on the
ground as he walked, watching for coins. During a long lifetime, he
found a good number of coins—but meanwhile he never saw the flowers and
the trees which grew in such wondrous beauty everywhere; he never saw
the hills, the mountains, the sweet valleys, the picturesque
landscapes; he never saw the blue sky. To him, this lovely world meant
only a dusty road, dreary and unbeautiful, merely a place in which to
look for coins.

This really is the story of the life of most
people. They never lift their eyes off the earth! They live only to
gather money, to add field to field, to scheme for power or to find
pleasure. Or, if their quest is a little higher, it is still only for earthly
things. They never lift up their eyesto God! There
is noblue skyin their picture. They cherish no heavenly visions. They are
without God in the world.

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on
things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set
your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Colossians 3:1-2

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It took the baby out of
the young mother's arms the other night!

(J. R. Miller, "Afterward You Will Understand" 1909)

He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, "Lord, are You going to wash my feet?"
Jesus answered him,"What I am
doing—you do not understand now; but afterward you will understand." John 13:7

We are assured that God has a plan for each individual life of His
redeemed children. Jesus had a purpose in washing the feet of his
disciples that night. It was not an idle thing that He was doing. He
meant to teach these men a great lesson.

He has a purpose in every smallest thing, in each event in our lives.
His plans run on through all the years, and are woven of the threads
of the common events of our lives. We do not know the meaning of
the small things in our everyday experiences—but the least of them is
in some way connected with the great divine plan.

God's plan for each life includes the smallest affairs of that life.
The things that come into our experience are not mere chance.
'Chance' is not a good word; at least we may not use it to mean
something that broke into our life independently of God. Nothing ever
comes into our experience by chance, in the sense that it is outside of
God's purpose for our life, and beyond God's control.

Suppose someone wrongs you, treats you unkindly, even cruelly. If you
are God's child, your Father takes the evil into His hands, and it
becomes thenceforth, a secret of blessing; it will be overruled so as
to be among the "all things" that work together for your good.

The purpose of God for His children—is always good,
always love. It could not be otherwise, for God is love. This does not
mean that His plan for us never involves suffering. Ofttimes it
does. It brings death to a mother—and pain and grief to her
family. It took the baby out of the young
mother's arms the other night! It leaves the young widow
broken-hearted, with little children to provide for. It permits loss of
property to come, leaving a family to suffer pinching poverty and hard
struggle. It allows a man to lose his work in the time of financial
depression, and to endure experience of sore need. It brings sickness
with its pain and cost. It lets us have bitter days of suffering.
Godly people ofttimes have to endure bitter things, which are hard and
most trying. Nevertheless, the plan of God for our lives is good. It is
a plan of love. "What I am doing"—it is the Master who
says this, and what He does must be good.

Is affliction good? Can it be good to endure bereavement, to
suffer injustice, to bear pain? Some day we shall know that many of the
best things in life—are the fruit of these very bitter
experiences. Our redemption—comes from the sorrow and suffering
of Jesus Christ. Just so, the best blessings and the
holiest beauties of God's saints—are the harvest of pain.

We must not forget that the things which are painful, are also parts of
Christ's chosen way for us, and that they are always good. In all our
life Christ is making us—making godly people of us, fashioning
Christian character, transforming us into His beautiful image.

Let not life's pains and trials dismay you. Submit to God,
accept the providences that come as part of His discipline, and take
the lessons, the enrichings which He sends. Some day you will know that
you have learned many of your sweetest songs—in the darkness.

All at once I find myself in an unbounded flood of bliss, a spacious
sea of glory; lost in wonder amidst ineffable delights, and transported
with the raptures of seraphic harmony! While all His saints rejoice in
His excellent glory—what ardor glows in every soul—what rapture swells
in every song! O the adorable displays of His perfections—the
manifestations of His goodness—the outlettings of His love!

Here we received out of His fullness—grace upon grace and glory upon
glory. Our possession is worthy of our liberal Giver. We have . . .
a kingdom which cannot be moved,
an undefiled inheritance, which does not fade away,
a city with foundations, whose builder and maker is God,garments of glory,
a crown of righteousness,
the tree of life to feed upon,
the fountain of life to drink of,
the garden of God to walk in,life above the reach of death,health secured from sickness, pleasure without pain.

Our eyesare ravished with seeing the King in His
beauty;
our earsare ravishedwith hearing the songs of
the inner temple;
our nostrilsare ravishedwith the fragrance of
the Rose of Sharon, the plant of renown;
our feetare ravishedwith standing in His holy
place;
our handsare ravishedwith handling of the
word of life; and
our mouthsare ravishedwith the wine of our
Beloved, which goes down sweetly, causing our souls to shout aloud, and
the lips to sing, and never cease.

Our experience of His fullness, our vision of
His perfections and glory—constitute our most exalted bliss, and are
the heaven of heavens!

O what torrents of eternal love teem from the throne into our souls!

O the pleasure that is in His presence!

O the exuberant rivers of joy that flow at His
right hand!

O love! never to be forgotten—which has brought me safely through so
many winding labyrinths and crooked paths, in sight of so many
enemies—in spite of . . .
a tempting devil,
the accusations of my sins,
the rebellion of my lusts,
the carnality of my affections, and
the weakness of all my graces—
to dwell at last forever in heavenly bliss!

O eternity! once the comfort of our longing expectations—now the
transport of our enlarged souls! For we are . . .
forever with the Lord,
seeing His unclouded face,
wearing His divine name,
drinking at the streams of His pleasures,
eating of His hidden manna,
sitting beneath the Tree of life,
basking under the beams of the Sun of righteousness,
singing hallelujahs to Him who loved us, who washed us from our
sins in His blood, and brought us here to be with Him forever!

It is the work of God's grace—to make lives beautiful. All that
grace does in us—is toward the fashioning of beautiful Christian
character in us.

On a florist's signboard are the words,"Ugly
corners made beautiful". The florist had reference to
what he could do to beautify an ugly spot or a piece of landscape. He
would trim out the weeds, plant flowers and shrubs, and transform a wilderness
into a garden.

That is what grace can do in our lives. Some men seem to think
that the fine and graceful things are only for women, not for men. But
Christ was a man—a perfect, complete man—and there was not a single
unlovely thing in His life.
He was strong—but also gentle.
He was just—but kindly.
He was firm—but patient.
He was righteous, and his indignation burned like fire against
all hypocrisy and injustice—but his tenderness never failed.

Fine manliness is beautiful, like Christ. "Yes, He is altogether
lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!" Song of Songs 5:16

One of the most important questions we can ask ourselves, is what God thinks of us.

One has pointed out that in every man, there arefour different men:

the man whom the neighbors see,

the man whom one's family sees,

the man whom the person himself sees,

and the man whom God sees.

The community knows us only in a
general way, superficially. What people think of us, we sometimes call
'reputation'—what we are reputed to be. It is a composite made
up of all that people know about us, gathered from our conduct, our
acts, our dispositions, our words, the impressions of ourselves we give
to others.

The knowledge the community has of a man, is only superficial.
It is evident that the world's opinion about people is not
infallible, is not complete, is not final.

A person may be betterthan his
reputation; his external manner may do him injustice. Some men, by
reason of their shyness, their awkwardness, or some limitation in power
of expression, fail to appear at their true value. The world knows only
a man's outward life, and there may be good things in him which it does
not know.

Then some people, on the other hand, are worse
than their reputation.Their
photograph flatters them!What they pretend to
be—exceeds the reality. They practice tricks which
give a glamour to their lives, so that they pass in public for more
than they are. They wear veils, which hide defects and faults
in them, and thus they seem better than they are.

Hence we cannot accept the judgment of the community,
regarding anyone—as absolutely true, fair, and final.

But there is another man in us—the man GOD
sees. And this is most important of all. We do not even know all the
secret things of our own hearts. There is an Eye that sees
deeper than ours! It is pleasant to have people commend us,
when we have tried to do our duty. It gives us great joy to have the
approval of our own hearts. But if we do not have the
commendation of the Master, human praise and self-approval amount to
nothing! "What does God think of me?" is always the final
question.

Men are cruel. They judge often harshly. They
know only part of the truth concerning us. They are not
patient with our infirmities. But we are safe in the hands of God. He
knows the worst in us—but He also knows the best. We
may trust our lives, therefore, to God's judgment, even if
they are full of defects and flaws. He knows all, and will bring to
light all the hidden things.

Hitherto I have looked upon myself as young, and coming to the
prime of my life. But henceforth I shall consider myself as in my
declining years. I am certain how long I have lived in the world—but
quite uncertain how soon I must leave the world. And therefore I should
be preparing for my final departure, and daily be ripening for the
regions of bliss!

A young man, and a holy life; one in his prime, and all his
graces flourishing—is lovely to behold.

But a grey head, and a carnal worldly heart,
is a wounding sight! Henceforth, be gone bewitching vanities, and all
the enchantments of the world! The last years of my life are not to be
trifled away with you!

Death attends me!

The grave awaits me!

Eternity is at hand!

"It is appointed unto men once to die—but after
this the judgment!" Hebrews 9:27

"Worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness; tremble before
Him, all the earth!" Psalm 96:9

"Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." Psalm 90:17

Paul enjoins that, "whatsoever things are lovely" shall be in
the vision of life, into which we aim to fashion our character.

We are to follow in the footsteps of our Master. Jesus Himself
was, "Altogether lovely!" Song of Songs 5:16

Humanity was made to be beautiful. God's ideal for man was
spotless loveliness—man was made at first, in God's image. But sin
has left its foul trail everywhere! We see something of its debasement,
wherever we go. What ruins sin has wrought!

All of Christ's work of grace—is towards the restoration of beauty of
the Lord in His people.

Spiritual beauty is holiness.
Nothing unclean is lovely. Character is Christ-like, only when
it is beautiful.

All the precepts of the Bible are towards the fashioning of
beauty in every redeemed life. We are to put away . . .
all that is sinful,
all marring,
every blot and blemish,
every unholy desire, feeling and affection,
everything that would defile—
and put on whatsoever is lovely and Christ-like.

The one great work of Christ in Christian lives—is the fashioning of
holiness in them. We are to grow away from . . .
our deformities,
our faults,
our infirmities,
our poor dwarfed stunted life
—into spiritual beauty!

The mark set before us is the likeness of Christ, which, at
last, we shall attain! "We know that when He appears—we will be like
Him, because we will see Him as He is! And everyone who has this hope
in Him purifies himself—just as He is pure." 1 John 3:2-3

There is a duty of fault-finding. The
Master Himself teaches it. In the Sermon on the Mount, He makes it very
plain. We must note carefully, however, where the duty begins.
We are to look first after our own faults. "Why do you look at
the mote that is in your brother's eye—but do not consider the
beam that is in your own eye?"

We must consider the beam that is in
our own eye!

The form of this question suggest that we are
naturally inclined to pay more attention to flaws and blemishes in others—than
in ourselves; and also that a very small fault—a mere mote of
fault in another person—may seem larger to us than a blemish many times
greater in ourselves!

Of course, it is far easier to see other
people's faults—than our own. Our eyes are set in our head in such
a way—that we can look at our neighbor, better than at ourselves. Yet
we all have faults of our own. Most of us have quite enough of them to
occupy our thought, to the exclusion of our neighbor's faults—if only
we would give them our attention.

Really, too, our own faults ought to interest
us, more than our neighbor's, because they are our own; and being our
own, we are responsible for them. We do not have to answer for
any other one's sins—but we must answer for our own sins, "Each one
must give an account of himself."

Also, the responsibility for getting rid of
them, is ours. No faithful friend, no wise teacher, can cure our faults
for us. If ever they are taken out of our life—it must be by our own
faith, our own firm, persistent effort.

It is a fact, that the faults which we
usually see and criticize in others—are the very faults which are the
most marked in us! In our judgment of others—we show a miniature
of ourselves. If this is true, we should be careful in judging
others, for in doing so—we are only revealing our own faults! This
should lead us also to close scrutiny of our own life, to get rid of
the things in us which are not beautiful.

"The disciples were filled with joy and with the
Holy Spirit." Acts 13:52

"The fruit of the Spirit is joy" Galatians 5:22

The Wise Man says that there is "a time to laugh." That
is, there is a time when laughter is right, when it is a duty—and
when it would be wrong not to laugh. Perhaps we have not been
accustomed to think of laughter in this way. We regard it as an
agreeable exercise—but are not apt to class it among duties,
like honesty or kindness.

It would be a sad thing, however, if laughter should be altogether
crowded out of life. Think of a world of human beings with no
laughter—men and women always wearing grave, serious, solemn faces.
Think of the laughter of childhood,departing from the
world—how dull and dreary life would be! Nothing on earth is more
beautiful, than the merry laugh of childhood.

Laughter has its place in every wholesome, healthy, holy life. The
man who never smiles—is morbid! He has lost the joy chords out of
his life. He has trained himself to think only of unpleasant things,
to look only and always at the dark side. He has accustomed
himself so long to sadness—that the muscles of his face have
become set in hard, fixed lines—and cannot relax themselves. His thoughts
of life are gloomy—and the gloom has entered his soul and
darkened his eyes!

Where there is no laughter—all evils nest. Demons do not laugh!

The man who never laughs, must
not blame his fellows if they think there is something wrong with
his life, something dark within.

If the streams which flow out are only bitter—the fountain
cannot be sweet!

"Gather up the fragments that are
left over. Let nothing be wasted!" John 6:12

"Time is short!" 1 Corinthians 7:29

Time is made up of golden minutes—not one of which
we should allow to be wasted! The Master said that for every
idle word that men speak—they must give account. This can be
no less true of idle minutes or hours.

Most of us live as if we had a thousand years to stay here in this
world! We loiter away the golden hours of our little days—as
if the days were never to end! We do not see how swiftly the sun is
whirling toward his setting, while our work is but half done, our task
perhaps scarcely begun!

We fritter away days, weeks, months—not
noticing how ourone little opportunity of living in this
world is being worn off, as the sea eats away a crumbling bank
until its last shred is gone! We set slight value on time,
forgetting that we have only a hand-breadth of it—and then comes
eternity!

Many of us fail to appreciate the value of 'single days'. "A day is too
short a space," we say, "that it cannot make much difference if one,
just one, is wasted—or idled away in pleasure!" Yet
the days are links in a chain, and if one link is broken—the
chain is broken. In God's plan for our life—each little day has
its own load of duty.

How these lost days shame us—as they
turn their reproachful eyes upon us, out of the irrevocable past!

Many people are wasteful of time. They fail to realize its value.
They appear to have it in such abundance—that they dream it can never
end. They do not know that a day lost—may mean misfortune or
failure for them sometime in the future. They do not know that squandered
hours, minutes spent in idleness—may cost them the true
success of their life, bringing failure or disaster!

They should not make the mistake of imagining they have so much
time—that they can afford to let days or hours or
even minutes be wasted. They cannot afford to lose one
golden minute of any day. We do not know what momentous issues,
affecting all our future—are involved in any quietest hour of any
common-place day. There is 'a time for everything'—but the time
is short, and when it is gone, and the thing is not done—it never
can be done!

What you make of your life—you must make in a few years at the most;
for the human span is short—and any day may be your last one! Every
day that passes—leaves life's margin a little less for each of
us. Our allotment of time is ever shortening!

There are a great many things it is not worth our while to do. Some of
us spend our days in poor trivialities which bless no one, and
which will add no lustre to our crown.

Therefore, waste no opportunity! Squander no moment! There is just time
enough for you to live your life well—if you spend every moment of it
in earnest, faithful duty. One hour lost—will leave a flaw. A
life thus lived in unbroken diligence and faithfulness, will
have no regrets when the end comes.

People sometimes think that salvation imparts . . .
godly virtues,
fine qualities of Christian character,
lovely traits of disposition, and
elements of spiritual beauty—
without any cost or effort to the believer himself!

Christ's followers are transformed—old things pass away, and all things
become new. Those who believe in Him—are fashioned into His image. But
these blessings do not come easily.The heavenly graces are
not put into our life—as one might hang up lovely pictures on the
walls to adorn a home! They must be wrought into our life in a sense,
by our own hands. We must work out our own salvation, although it is
God who works in us, both to will and to work.

For example, patience is not put into anyone's life—as
one brings in a piece of new furniture. You cannot merely receive
patience as a gift from God. Patience is a lesson to be learned—through
long and watchful self-discipline. Christ is the teacher—but you are
the student, and it is the student who must
learn the lesson! Not even Christ will learn it for you—to
spare you the effort. Nor can it be made an easy lesson for
you. It costs to grow patient, and you must pay the price
yourself!

The same is true of all the elements of a godly and worthy character.

We are always at school in this world. God is teaching us the
things we need to learn. The lessons are not easy—sometimes they
are very hard! But the hardest lessons are the best—for they bring
out in us the finest qualities, if only we learn them well.

Those, therefore, who find themselves in what may seem adverse
conditions, compelled to face hardship, endure opposition,
and pass through struggle—should quietly accept the
responsibility; and, trusting in Christ for guidance and strength, go
firmly and courageously forward, conscious that they have now an
opportunity to grow strong, and develop in themselves the qualities of
worthy and noble character!

If we only tried seriously to live up to our praying—it would
have a powerful effect upon our character and conduct!

There is no prayer that most Christians make oftener—than that they may
be made like Christ. It is a most fitting prayer, and one that
we should never cease to make. But if we very earnestly wish to be
transformed into Christ's likeness—we will find the desire growing
into great intensity in our daily lives, and transforming them.
It will affect every phase of our behavior and conduct. It
will hold before us continually, the image of our Lord, and will keep
ever in our vision—a new standard . . .
of thought,
of feeling,
of desire,
of act,
of speech.
It will keep us asking all the while, such questions as these, "How
would Jesus feel about this—if He were personally in my circumstances?
What would Jesus do—if He were here today where I am?"

There is always danger of mockeries and insincerities in
our praying for spiritual blessings. The desires are to be
commended. God approves of them and will gladly bestow upon us the more
grace we ask for:
the increase in love,
the greater faith,
the purer heart,
the new advance in holiness.
But these are attainments which are not bestowed upon us directly, as
gifts from heaven. We have much to do in securing them. When we
ask for spiritual blessings or favors, the Master asks, "Are you able
to pay the price, to make the self-denial, to give up the things you
love—in order to reach these attainments in holiness, in grace, in
spiritual beauty?"

If our lives were as good as our prayers,
we would be saint-like in character.

If we find that our prayers are beyond
our living, our duty is not to lower them to suit the tenor of
our living—but to bring our lives up to the higher standard of our
praying!

There is a secret of victorious living
which, if people knew it, would make all of life easier for them. It
may be stated thus: that as we take up any duty and go forward with it,
we shall receive the strength we need to do it. There are several
Divine promises that give this assurance.

One reads, "As your days—so shall your strength
be." Deuteronomy 33:25. This seems to mean that the help which
God gives, varies according to the necessity of the particular
day. God fits His blessing—to our days.
When we are faint—He increases strength.
When we are sorrowful—He gives comfort.
When we are in danger—He grants protection.
When we are weary—He gives rest.
"As your days—so shall your strength be."

Another of Christ's promises reads, "My
grace is sufficient for you." Every word of this
assurance shines with radiant light.

"My grace is sufficient for you."
It is Christ's grace that is sufficient. We know that He has
all Divine fullness, and therefore we are sure that no human need can
ever exhaust His power to give help!

"My graceis sufficient for you."
It is Christ's gracethat is sufficient. If it were
anything else but grace, it might not give us such comfort. Grace is
undeserved favor, goodness shown to the unworthy. We deserve nothing,
for we are sinners. But it is Christ's grace which is
sufficient, and so we can claim it.
"My grace is sufficient for you."
It is present tense—ISsufficient. Christ is always speaking
personally to the one who is in any need, and saying, "My grace IS
sufficient for you."

"My grace is sufficient for
you." The word "sufficient" is one whose meaning expands and
amplifies with the measure of the need. No necessity is so small as
not to be included; and none is so great as to go beyond the
capacity of the blessing that is promised.

"My grace is sufficient for you."
The grace is sufficient for each of His redeemed children—"for you"
the promise runs.

Life lies before us, with . . .
its burdens,
its duties,
its responsibilities,
its struggles,
its perplexities.
It does not come to us all in one piece. God breaks our years—into
months and weeks and days, and never gives
us more than just a little at a time—never more than we can
bear or do for the day.

If we take up the present duty or burden—we shall always have strength
to do it. If we do not have strength of our own sufficient for the work
or struggle, we need not falter—but should go on, just as if we had
omnipotence in our arm; for as we obey God, though the task is
impossible to our ability—He will sustain us by giving us all
the help we need.

"The one who says he abides in Him—ought himself also so to walk, even
as He walked." 1 John 2:6

A little child, after reading in the New Testament one day, asked her
mother, "Is Jesus like anybody we know?"
The child was eager to discover just what were the elements of the
character of Christ, His disposition, His spirit,
the mind that was in Him.

The mother ought to have been able to answer, "Yes, I
am trying to be like Jesus; if you will look at my life, and
study my character—you will see a little of what Jesus is
like."

Every follower of Christ should be able to say the same to all who know
him. The likeness is imperfect, for in many things we come short; but,
if we are true Christians, we must be trying to live as He would—if
He were in our place.

"Leaving you an example—so that you should follow in His steps."
1 Peter 2:21

There are things that can be bought with money—but there are some things that money cannot buy!

With money—we may build a house, and adorn and furnish it. But
money cannot buy home happiness, and the sweetness, comfort, and
refinement which make true home life!

With money—we may purchase food and clothing, coal for the
fire, and luxuries for physical enjoyment. But money cannot buy . . .
fine character,
moral beauty,
a gentle spirit,
peace in the heart, or
any of the elements which make up a noble personality!

The shepherd is a
favorite Scriptural picture of the divine love and care. In the Old
Testament, the twenty-third Psalm gathers the whole wonderful
truth in exquisite lines, which are dear to young and old wherever the
Bible is known. Then in the New Testament, when our Lord would give His
friends the sweetest revealings of His heart toward them, and tell them
what they are to Him, and what He would be to them—He says, "I am
the Good Shepherd."

The Hebrew shepherd lives
with his sheep. If they are out in the storm—he is with them.
If they are exposed to danger—so is he. Just so, Christ lives with His
people. He enters into closest relations with them.

The shepherd knows his
sheep. He has a name for each one and calls them all by their
names. Just so, Christ knows each one of His friends, has intimate
personal knowledge of each one. He knows the best in us—and also the
worst—our faults, our sins, our wanderings. Yet, knowing us as we
are—He loves us still and never wearies of us!

The shepherd is most gentle
with his sheep. He does not drive them—but goes
before them and leads them. When they need rest on the way—he
makes them lie down, and chooses for their resting-place, not the dusty
road—but green pastures. He is especially kind to the lambs,
gathers them in his arms and carries them in his bosom. All this is an
exquisite picture of the gentleness of our Good Shepherd in His
care of His sheep. He is thoughtful toward the weak. He loves the lambs
and makes room for them on His bosom. Whatever the need is,
there is something in the heart of Christ which meets its craving and
supplies its lack!

The shepherd defends his
flock in all danger. Often he had to risk his own safety, even his
life, in protecting his sheep. Just so, the Good Shepherd
gives His life—for His sheep!

Christ's sheep are
absolutely safe in His keeping. "I give unto them eternal
life," He said; "and they will never perish—ever! No one will snatch
them out of My hand!" Then at last, He will bring His own all safely
home, "and they shall become one flock—with one Shepherd!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The burning of
these old Ephesian books!
(J. R. Miller,
"Paul's Message for Today" 1904)

"Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil
deeds. A number of them who had been practicing magic brought their books
and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books
was several million dollars!" Acts 19:18-19

One proof of the power of Christianity, was in
the way these new believers at Ephesus renounced their evil ways and
gave up their profitable sins. They saw the emptiness and folly of the
things in which they had been trusting, and openly confessed the sinful
deeds they had been doing. Many of them who had been engaged in the
practice of magic arts, brought their books together and made a bonfire
of them in the public square.

Always, those who follow Christ should be ready to part with whatever
is sinful in their life and work, that Christ may be honored above all.
Sins kept in the heart—poison the life, hide God's
face, and shut out blessing. No matter what it may cost, our sins must
be sacrificed, or they will destroy us!

The burning of these old Ephesian books
suggests that we should have bonfires of our evil books. There
are many books which ought to be burned! They carry in them Satan's
poison! To read them is to debauch our own souls. To put them into
the hands of others—is to ruin them.

In India, a man took down a book from the
shelf—and a viper came out of the book and stung him to death! Just so,
there are many books in which deadly vipers lie hidden! We
should be most careful in choosing the books we read. A good book is a
great blessing—but a bad book is a curse!

"Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake
that the foundations of the prison were shaken.
At once all the prison doors flew open, and
everybody's chains fell off!" Acts 16:26

There is no prison too strong for God to break open;
there are no chains too heavy for Him to snap asunder,
there are no walls too thick for Him to shatter.

There are other kinds of prisons besides those built
with stone—prisons of trial, of temptation, of trouble,
of circumstances. If we are in any of these
prisons,
God is just as able to bring us out of them!